Virus cases cross 75k, worries in Japan as cruise passengers come off

As the number of coronavirus infections crossed the 75,000 mark, worries in Japan are escalating as passengers begin to disembark from quarantined cruise ship, Diamond Princess, in Yokohama.

As the number of the infected crossed 75,000, doubts have resurfaced again over China's dissemination of data on coronavirus as the number of cases dropped sharply on Thursday on another change in the methodology of testing.

The Hubei province which is the epicentre of the outbreak reported a sharp drop in new cases, as China again changed the way the infections are being diagnosed.

The coronavirus fatalities are spreading to other Asian countries with the first death in South Korea as cases surged linked to a cluster from a religious sect, while Japan confirmed two deaths from the quarantined cruise ship.

Two people have died on the Diamond Princess from the virus. The fatalities were a man and woman, both Japanese nationals in their 80s, who had existing medical conditions, NHK reported. The cruise ship has the most infections anywhere outside China, with more than 600 confirmed cases.

Japan on Wednesday allowed passengers to start disembarking from the Diamond Princess, despite worries the country hasn't done enough to prevent the spread of disease from the vessel though being a high risk spot for coronavirus.

The number of infections in Japan has more than doubled last week to 84, tying Singapore as the country outside mainland China with the most cases.

The Japanese government is being blamed for being too slow to bar visitors from China and not careful enough in the quarantine procedure of the Diamond Princess cruise ship where infections surged during two weeks it was docked in Yokohama. - IANS